Carlos Campos Rivera, a 25-year-old resident of Palm Springs, California, tragically lost his life on February 3, 2019. The circumstances surrounding his death were part of a horrific quadruple murder that shocked the local community. On that fateful night, Carlos Campos Rivera was one of four victims, including Yuliana Garcia, 17; Jacob Montgomery, 19; and Juan Duarte-Raya, 18.
The perpetrator, Jose Vladimir Larin Garcia, carried out the murders in a brutal execution-style manner.
The events unfolded when Larin Garcia, who was in a car with three of the victims, met Campos Rivera near his apartment complex on Canon Drive. Larin Garcia shot Campos Rivera twice, including a fatal shot to the head. The car then sped away, and a neighbor later testified to hearing screams from inside the vehicle, followed by multiple gunshots and a loud crash. The bodies of the other three victims were discovered in the disabled car on Sunny Dunes Road, each with gunshot wounds to the head. Yuliana Garcia also had a defensive wound on her hand, indicating she tried to shield herself from the gunfire.
Larin Garcia was found hiding under a truck a couple of blocks away from the crash site, covered in the victims' blood and without his shoes and jacket. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor abrasions but managed to flee while wearing his hospital gown. He was later arrested at a Greyhound bus station, attempting to flee to Florida under a false name, with a shaved head and new clothing.
The legal proceedings against Larin Garcia were extensive. Initially, a mistrial was declared in March 2022, but a second trial led to his conviction on February 6, 2023. He was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder, with special circumstances of lying in wait and multiple victims, making him eligible for the death penalty. On February 24, 2023, the jury recommended the death penalty, and this decision was affirmed by a judge on February 9, 2024. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao of the Homicide Trial Team.
The death of Carlos Campos Rivera and the subsequent legal battle highlight the severity of the crime and the impact it had on the victims' families and the community. The decision to impose the death penalty reflects the heinous nature of the murders and the lack of remorse shown by Larin Garcia.
